JetBlue Strategic Implementation Plan: Growth & Service
This paper examines JetBlue Airways' comprehensive strategic implementation plan, grounding it in the company's mission to "bring humanity back to air travel." The analysis begins with a company background covering corporate governance, fleet composition, and competitive positioning. It then presents an environmental scan identifying key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats before reviewing and recommending strategic priorities. The bulk of the paper details the implementation plan itself, including objectives, functional tactics, action items, resource allocation, milestones, financial forecasts with a break-even analysis, and a risk management framework. The paper concludes that disciplined execution of the proposed strategy can yield sustained revenue growth and reinforce JetBlue's differentiation as a low-cost, high-quality carrier.
- Company Background: Founding, fleet, governance, and market position
- Mission, Vision, and Values: Five core values and four strategic pillars
- Environmental Scan: SWOT strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats
- Review of Strategies and Recommendations: Seven recommended strategic priorities for growth
- Implementation Plan: Objectives, tactics, tasks, resource allocation, milestones
- Financial Forecast and Break-Even Analysis: Three-year revenue projections and break-even data
- Conclusion: Differentiation strategy and forward-looking outlook
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What makes this paper effective
- Integrates primary source material — JetBlue's own annual report and governance guidelines — to ground every strategic claim in documented evidence rather than unsupported assertion.
- Follows a logical planning sequence (background → environmental scan → strategy review → implementation → financials), mirroring a real-world business plan format that reinforces credibility.
- Connects abstract mission language ("bring humanity back to air travel") to concrete operational details such as seat-mile cost, aircraft utilization rates, and training programs, demonstrating applied strategic thinking.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper exemplifies strategic alignment analysis — showing how each operational tactic (low distribution costs, productive workforce, new aircraft) maps directly back to the company's stated mission and values. By repeatedly cross-referencing specific data points from the annual report with strategic objectives, the author demonstrates that recommendations are evidence-driven rather than speculative.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a brief executive summary before expanding into seven substantive sections. Sections 1–2 establish company context and values; Section 3 applies a SWOT framework; Section 4 translates the scan into prioritized strategy recommendations; Section 5 is the longest and most detailed, covering objectives, tactics, action items, task ownership, resource allocation, and milestones; Section 6 provides quantitative support through revenue projections and break-even analysis; and Section 7 synthesizes findings in a forward-looking conclusion. This structure mirrors a standard strategic plan document used in business practice.
Company Background
JetBlue was founded in 1998 by David Neeleman. The company's headquarters are located in Forest Hills, New York. As described in its corporate profile:
"JetBlue Airways Corporation provides passenger air transportation services in the United States. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 650 daily flights to 63 destinations in 21 states, Puerto Rico, and Mexico, and 10 countries in the Caribbean and Latin America through a fleet of 115 Airbus A320 aircraft and 45 Embraer 190 aircraft. The company, through its subsidiary LiveTV, LLC, provides in-flight entertainment, voice communication, and data connectivity systems and services for commercial and general aviation aircraft, including live in-seat satellite television, digital satellite radio, wireless aircraft data link service, and cabin surveillance systems" ("Company Profile").
The company employs 9,626 people throughout the country. As of December 2010, JetBlue was the sixth largest carrier in the United States. The company is firmly committed to providing value for the customer through service, style, and cost. It has also garnered considerable attention for its award-winning customer service and competitive fares (Annual Report, 2010).
With respect to corporate governance, JetBlue is overseen by a carefully screened board of directors composed of both employees and independent directors. The board's composition is guided by the following principle:
"The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee identifies candidates for director through a variety of means, including suggestions from the Committee and the Board and suggestions from Company officers, employees, and others. The Committee may retain a search firm to identify director candidates for Board positions. In addition, the Committee considers nominees for director suggested by stockholders. Submissions received whose candidates meet the criteria for director nominees approved by the JetBlue Board will be forwarded to the Chairman of the Governance and Nominating Committee for further review and consideration" (JetBlue Airways Corporation Governance Guidelines).
Mission, Vision, and Values
According to the company's 2010 annual report, JetBlue's mission and vision is to bring humanity back to air travel. To support this mission, the company has developed four strategic elements:
When customers fly JetBlue, they receive treatment that is second to none, because employees are taught to treat customers with respect and customer service is highly prioritized. Each seat also offers additional legroom that exceeds what is available on other carriers (Annual Report, 2010). Over the years the company has made tremendous strides to ensure that all seats are comfortable — all seats are leather and many cabins are wider than those of competing airlines. Customers have access to DirecTV and satellite radio, a broad selection of movies, and free brand-name snacks and drinks. The company has also created products designed for overnight flights and is devoted to keeping customers informed of flight delays and their expected duration. JetBlue also strives to ensure that customers understand their rights under the Passenger Bill of Rights, which was introduced in 2007. The company additionally maintains a strict policy against overbooking flights (Annual Report, 2010).
For the most part, JetBlue has maintained a cost structure that allows it to offer fares lower than those of competitors (Annual Report, 2010). The company continues to focus on keeping operating costs low relative to the quality of service and products it provides. This commitment was evident at the end of fiscal year 2010, when JetBlue reported a cost per available seat mile of 6.71 cents — one of the lowest among all U.S. carriers (Annual Report, 2010). Four main factors enable these lower costs:
JetBlue has worked hard to strengthen its brand, and that strength is what differentiates it from competitors. The company places a great deal of emphasis on customer awareness. As stated in the annual report, "In 2010, we were voted 'Top Low Cost Airline for Customer Satisfaction' by J.D. Power and Associates for the sixth consecutive year. We also earned distinctions for the third straight year as the 'Best Large Domestic Airline (economy class)' and 'Best Inflight Entertainment (domestic flights)' in the 2010 Zagat Airline Survey. Additionally, the JetBlue Experience won us 'Best Cabin Ambiance' at the 2010 Passenger Choice Awards of the Airline Passenger Experience Association" (Annual Report, 2011).
JetBlue takes great pride in its people and works diligently to keep employees satisfied. The company has built a corporate culture that is service-oriented and grounded in its core values. The success of the company depends heavily on its ability to retain, hire, and develop employees who assist passengers in a friendly and helpful manner. This culture is "reinforced through an extensive orientation program for new employees which emphasizes the importance of customer service, productivity and cost control" (Annual Report, 2010). There is also extensive ongoing training designed to ensure that customers are treated consistently and in a manner that reflects the company's values, with particular emphasis on safety (Annual Report, 2010). The company also places significant importance on allowing employees to voice their opinions about improvements, recognizing that frontline workers have valuable insights from their daily customer interactions (Annual Report, 2010).
JetBlue espouses five core values that govern the operation of the company:
Environmental Scan
Conclusion
JetBlue is a dynamic company that has realized remarkable success in a short period of time. The airline has a strategic plan that differentiates it greatly from its competitors, and that differentiation will continue to be a source of competitive advantage if it is carefully managed. The recommendations set forth in the implementation plan encourage the company to continue on its current path while incorporating new strategies to support future growth. If JetBlue properly executes the plan, it can realize meaningful profit improvements within three years while reinforcing its reputation as a low-cost, high-quality carrier committed to bringing humanity back to air travel.
Works Cited
Annual Report, 2010. Retrieved from
Academic Earth. (n.d.). JetBlue: Organizational Culture and Values. Retrieved from http://academicearth.org/courses/jetblue-organizational-culture-and-values
"Company Profile." Retrieved from
Culture. Retrieved from
JetBlue Airlines. (2011). JetBlue About Us. Retrieved from
JetBlue Airways Corporation Governance Guidelines. Retrieved from
Meritt, J. W. (n.d.). Risk Management. Retrieved from http://csrc.nist.gov/nissc/1998/proceedings/paperE5.pdf
"Our People." Retrieved from http://www.jetblue.com/about/ourcompany/annualreport/2002/our-people.html
Stoller, G. (2010). JetBlue, Southwest beat big carriers for service, quality. USA Today. Retrieved from
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